A New Life
by turntable1622
Summary: Tails finds a new reason to find hope in the battered life that he is in.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Life can take quite an unexpected turn, can't it?

When I was at the tender of age of eight, life seemed liked it couldn't get any better. I was a helping hand to probably one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen. I remember the day he took me in.

I was an orphan, just wandering around in the forest, with no direction in life. Usually, I would just lie down on the smooth grass and watch the clouds go by, as the leaves that desperately clung to the trees fell onto the soft grass. Every cloud that passed me by seemed the same as the last. I never had that much imagination, but I think that it's safe to say that I was a fairly smart kid. Hell, I could easily perform long division by the age of five.

But, I was very prone to making mistakes, and the other creatures that lived around me weren't too kind. I guess their hate for me was justifiable because I would just constantly get in the way of their games by testing my inventions in their open field. Many times, I've been called a "squirt" by people, but I think that those kids hold the record for the most times saying it.

Then, Sonic came and changed everything. Whatever he saw in me, I haven't got the slightest clue.

I remember the good times with him, and meeting more friends along the way. Amy, Knuckles, Cream, Rouge, Shadow… all of them have all had an effect on me in terms of my personality. While Amy and Knuckles taught me how to stand my ground and never back down, Rouge and Shadow were the types who relied more on wit and cunningness to solve their problems.

Yes, things were looking up. I was with a great group of people who helped me along my life. But, Sonic topped them all. His leadership was what I admired most. Whenever things looked bleak, he was there to give me that trademark "thumbs up" and assure me that everything was going to work out just fine.

Then, it all went to hell when Sonic got sick.

I started to notice Sonic's situation when he would have numerous coughing fits. Sometimes, he would have to go to the bathroom in order to prevent anyone from seeing that he was, indeed, coughing up blood. I noticed this by constantly seeing piles, upon piles of blood soaked paper towels in the trash bin.

It went on for weeks, then months, and then, finally… I was able to recognize that Sonic needed a hospital.

Cancer is quite a dreadful sounding word. Just the mere sound of it can make any person, no matter how cold mannered, cringe. Well, I didn't take the doctors words too well,

"Sonic is going through early stages of Esophageal cancer. I'm sorry, but… chances of him surviving are… very slim."

It was over. I couldn't even mutter one word as I drove down the highway back to my house. I had to pull over, I'd say, about three times. I was just crying too hard.

After delivering the news to the friends that I had come to know as my family, they all took it very hard. With peace surrounding the world after Eggman's untimely death two years earlier, nobody saw the reason to keep the team going. We disbanded, and moved on into our own worlds.

I still visited Sonic, and I still obtained an intense amount of respect for him, but… he just seems to get worse as I visited him. His blue fur had been fading into a light gray, and he struggled to speak every time he tried to even mutter one word.

I cried every night, knowing that Sonic would never make it. Despite his hopeful and positive attitude towards his whole situation, it came to nothing. He died on a Saturday.

Well, everyone can say that they have had at least one crazy moment in their lifetime. Mine came after Sonic died.

I came home, with this numb feeling surrounding me, consuming me. Then, it burst into a fit of rage. Why couldn't I help? Why was I only visiting Sonic when I could have been there to motivate him into beating the cancer? That was it. I punched a whole into my wall with such a force that the whole place shook. Then, I grabbed a nearby chair and flung it out the window, loving the sound that the window made as it shattered into a million pieces. I felt nothing but fiery, disorienting, rage, as my entire house turned into a war zone. Finally, the mayhem that increased inside of me ceased.

Tears welled up in my eyes, as a sinking feeling of despair hung over me. I fell on my knees, and broke down, grasping my injured hand and shouting between muffled sobs. My friend, my brother, and my guide in life, vanished from me in the blink of an eye.

I had another lonely birthday, turning twenty-one and starting to get over my friends demise. With my house being taken away from me by the IRS, since I couldn't pay the bills, I now lived in a below-par apartment with a rotten aroma and a neck straining sofa bed to go along with it.

To put it in simple words, it was not a happy time in my life.

But, that's when I met Clyde.

_Stay tuned for Chapter 2_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I came home from work one day, allowing myself to collapse on my concrete-like bed. The springs let out a sickening wail, as I groaned in exhaustion and fatigue. Everyone says that the DMV is probably equal to hell on Earth. But, in all honesty, those people couldn't be more right!

Just sitting there and taking every little piece of abuse from people just eager to get their license or to pass a simple vision test can be quite stressful. On that day, a rather large man with a goatee and pink eyes screamed at me. He probably didn't have an I.Q. higher than seventy-five, but man, did he have a short fuse. His grunts and screams were very difficult to make out. All I could hear the dull man say was

"You furry son of a bitch!" and " What do you mean I can't drive for another six months? That's the second time this year!"

I desperately tried to reason with the man, but he just left the place in a fit of rage and anger. Whenever I think of that man, all I can say is,

" Not as bad as Dr. Eggman."

Oh, Eggman, that's another story…

I worked an eight-hour shift and barely got enough money to pay the rent for the apartment. As I heard the loud, obnoxious car horns of Metropolis blare through my thin windowpanes, I covered my head with my pillow, as I did every night, trying to blot out the noises of gunshots and screams of help coming from dark alleys. I simply thought of how rundown and crime filled Metropolis had become since Sonic's death. Even though Eggman had died, that didn't stop people from looting and performing other atrocities. The police station in the city had become lazy and corrupt, with officers committing their own crimes as well. Just the day before, I spotted two cops in a dark alley smoking marijuana. Pretty hypocritical of them, I'd say.

The next morning, a loud knocking on my door stirred me from my not so great slumber. As I slowly got myself out of bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I rushed to the door with a tired grunt and mumbled to myself,

"Who the hell wakes a man up at 5:30 in the AM like this?"

I unlocked the door and peeped my head through the small crack and croaked quietly,

"Yes? Can I help you?"

I had to say that sentence so many times in the DMV that I didn't even notice it anymore.

I fully opened the door to find a sight that bewildered me.

It was a male- feline, about my age, dressed in a dark t-shirt and blue jeans. He wore a red baseball cap over his head, with two letters in bold that read,

"**DT**"

In his hands, he held a rugged, brown suitcase that barely held all of the clothes he needed. There was what looked like a long cable held between his teeth, and to go along with his collection of belongings, he had what looked like a guitar case in his other hand. The case was a black hard cover, and had "Ibanez" written on the body of it. All I could do was stare at the mere humble sight of him.

" Um…hi there." I finally regained myself and spoke to the cat.

"Hey!" He grunted enthusiastically through his gritted teeth. His happy mood took me off guard, as I wondered why he would be so happy at an hour like this. He carefully released the cable from between his teeth and held it in his hand with his guitar case and said

"Name's Clyde. Clyde Brown. I just moved in here."

I was able to manage a feeble smile as I replied,

"Nice to meet you. My name is Miles Prower. But, you can just call me Tails."

Clyde laughed heartily, once again, surprising me.

"What in Chao's name is he so happy for?" I pondered.

I decided to shrug off the question mentally and said,

" So, are we neighbors or something?"

Clyde's eyes dilated as he stated proudly,

"Oh, no way man. We're roommates."

My heart sunk. A roommate? Now, I knew that the constant torture that had become my life had grown into an inescapable prison of suffering. Where would he sleep? Would we have to take turns sleeping on the single bed? Is he nice? Is he self-centered? Why didn't I get a notice or warning of this or something?

My thumb and index finger reached my eyes as I rubbed them in annoyance.

"Sorry I couldn't come later." Clyde said apologetically. "But, my last apartment just kicked me out last morning and this one said I had to be here at this room at around this time."

My fingers retracted from my face, as my look of annoyance turned to that of acceptance.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to make the best of this." I thought.

" That's alright." I muttered in exhaustion. " I should be getting up for work around this time anyway."

Clyde nodded, as his ears twitched suddenly and then calmed down.

"Well, guess I could be your alarm clock then." He laughed. I laughed along with him too. The joke really wasn't that funny, I was just laughing to show him respect. Besides, he seemed like a nice person.

"Make yourself at home." I said as I let him in through the door. " I know it isn't much, but I'm not exactly the richest guy in the world."

The gray furred cat chuckled as he set his guitar down by my bedside.

"No worries, dude!" He exclaimed with friendly, green eyes. " This place is like a mansion compared to where I lived before."

I just smirked and made my way to the narrow closet that held my working clothes. They were a pair of black dress pants with a light-blue dress shirt and yellow tie. I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes. I had to wear that stupid uniform every morning for five days a week.

After dressing myself, I grabbed my winter hat and called out to Clyde,

"Hey, I'm heading out to work. I'll be back around 2:30."

"Got it!" He called from the bathroom. "I'm going to head out and grab more stuff from my van and bring it in here."

"Make sure you lock the door, okay?" I warned him.

"Right!" He replied.

On that note, I headed out the door and made my way to the elevator. I pressed the lobby button and had my back against the wall, relaxing my stiff muscles and breathing a sigh of relief that I had managed to get this far. Every morning was a struggle. As the elevator dropped from my floor, I started to think about the odd character that had become my roommate.

"Who is this Clyde?" I thought. "And how am I going to live with him in just one little room?"

_Going to take a little break, now. Chapter 3 will be posted shortly after that. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was standing beside the entrance of the hotel, as I greedily wolfed down a bagel for my breakfast. While I looked out into the streets of Metropolis, I couldn't help but feel a sense of depression sweep over me like a giant gust of wind. The city smelled of something dreadful, and I just couldn't bear to witness the many poor souls who had to live on the streets, all because the companies weren't getting enough money from their workload. Yes, times had certainly changed, and every time I looked out into those streets, I feel sweet relief knowing that I'm in not in the same situation as those people.

Just as I was about to finish my bagel, Clyde suddenly burst through the door to grab more of his luggage. Noticing my presence, he smirked at me with a playful glint in his eye, as he called out through the cold air,

"Shouldn't you be getting to work?"

I chuckled lightly, as I finished my meal and replied,

"I'm going! Just let a man eat, will you?"

Clyde rolled his eyes with another smile, and headed towards a plain, white van littered with scratch marks. I decided to get going, and began to head down the street to the DMV.

On my way, I started to think about the cat, and wondered if he wasn't all that bad.

"Well, he sure knows how to make an impression." I thought to myself. "But, I guess he and I will get along okay."

Suddenly, as if it happened at the speed of sound, a fist collided with my face. It was a swift right hand hook that sent me flying onto my back. I hit the cold concrete of the sidewalk, still in shock from the blistering delivery of that punch.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I looked up with hot tears resting in my eyelids to find a dark, hooded figure, with bloodshot eyes and a look of pure malice on his face. He was a very pale, but strong man, and as I put a finger to my lips, I noticed that his punch drew some blood upon my lips.

"Give me your wallet." He growled in fury, as I slowly tried to pick myself back up.

"HURRY UP!" He screamed fiercely, as he stomped his foot down on my chest, causing me to crumple to the ground once again in awful pain. Now, for a fox with two tails, I know that it would have made sense to just fly away. But, I was so drained and physically deteriorated by this man, that I couldn't find any strength to get my tails into a helicopter spin.

"You better give me your fucking money if you want to see the next day!" He roared, as he reached into his rugged, thin jacket and pulled out a revolver. My eyes widened in absolute horror, as the insane man pinned me down with his foot on my chest and pointed the gun right at my head.

"Please…don't…" I begged him through painful coughs, "I'll give you my wallet…"

"Too late shit head!" He smiled horrifically, as he cocked the gun and prepared to pull the trigger.

I closed my eyes, expecting the end to be near, when suddenly, I heard the man start to choke. He dropped the gun,, and thankfully no shots were fired on impact. I opened my eyes and was shocked to find that someone else was trying to fight off the criminal.

It was Clyde.

"Let…me go…you son of a bitch!" The man gagged, as the cat threw him against the wall of a building and went over to him.

As I was lying down on the sidewalk, I noticed an absolute change in character in the look of Clyde's eyes. They were red, and hot with anger.

With three gruesome punches to the stomach, Clyde had the man sitting down against the wall in defeat with a bloody nose, a missing tooth, and a pain filled feeling in his gut. I was amazed to see how well the cat had managed to fight off the man. But, he wasn't done there.

"Get up! Get up, you bastard!" Clyde hissed through gritted teeth, as he grabbed the man by the jacket and dragged him over to a nearby dumpster. Before performing any other violent action on the man, Clyde spoke to him with a calm, but threatening tone of voice,

"Now you listen here,… If you ever…and I mean ever… touch him again…you're beat down is going to be a lost worse next time. Do we understand each other?"

Seeing that the hoodlum wasn't even paying the slightest attention, Clyde decided that it was best to grab him by the hairs and pull him up to his face,

"Do we understand each other?"

With the blood form his nose now staining his sweatshirt, the man nodded.

"Good…, now get the hell out of my sight."

On that note, I couldn't tell you how happy I was to see Clyde throw that awful human being into the dumpster. The look of anger faded from his face as soon as he turned to me. He started to jog towards where I was, while saying,

"You okay, Tails?"

I nodded lightly, as I let Clyde help me up. I noticed the look of concern on his face, as he assisted me in getting me back on my feet.

"You didn't have to help me, you know." I sighed in relief.

Clyde's eyes widened in shock, as he retorted,

"Oh, yes I did! That dumb-ass was going to kill you!"

I smiled lightly with a closed mouth, as the cat and I began to walk down the street.

"Well, thanks a lot for that, man. I'm sure that's the least I can do for you to show that I'm grateful.

"Well, you're quite welcome, Tails." The cat replied kindly. " Just promise me you won't go to work that way anymore. There are a lot of maniacs in this city."

I nodded in agreement, still shaken up from my near death experience. I felt a shiver go down my spine as I recalled what I had just gone through.

"That man was going to kill me…" I thought. "He was going to shoot me…"

I felt tears forming in my eyes, as I desperately tried to hide them from Clyde.

But…unfortunately…he noticed.

"Hey! Hey!" He told me softly, as he patted me on the back, "What's wrong, man?"

I shook my head softly, as I looked down at the ground, as the tears in my dried up in the cold, Metropolis wind.

"It's nothing, Clyde." I muttered, as we approached the DMV. "Just…thank you for saving my life back there."

"No sweat." Clyde said with a smile. "I guess I have to leave you off here. I got to get the rest of my stuff into the room and then I have to get to my job at the music store. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

I muttered a soft "Yes" and headed into the DMV, just a minute before it opened. I looked out the window for a brief time, as I watched the feline walk back down the sidewalk.

"Who the hell is he?" I thought to myself in wonder, as I walked away from the window and to my station.

" I guess I'll have to get to know him more."

_Sorry if my chapters are too short. Anyway, chapter 4 will get here as soon as possible. Please leave a review._


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